The Commonwealth Transportation Board has awarded the City of Waynesboro $424,574 in Federal Transportation Enhancement Program funds for Phase 2 of the South River Greenway Trail Project.
This amount is in addition to a $320,000 grant previously awarded by VDOT in 2011. Together, these two grants mean that the Phase 2 of the South River Greenway Trail is now fully funded.
The grant money will fund the planning, design and construction of a 1.2 mile multi-use trail that will extend from the Dominion Virginia Power Pavilion in Constitution Park northward along South River to North Park. This extension is a continuation of the 1-mile Phase 1 of the Greenway Trail, which links the YMCA with Constitution Park. Phase 1 was opened to the public in March of this year.
“Building on the success of Phase 1, Phase 2 will link several neighborhoods and parks to downtown, provide another recreational resource for people living near the trail, and improve the quality of life for the entire city,” said Michael Barnes, Waynesboro Director of Planning.
The grant will pay for a 10-foot wide asphalt trail, bridges, benches, bike racks, trailhead signage and landscaping.
The city has already held several design meetings with the engineering and landscape firms hired to design the trail. The preliminary plans will be shown to the public this fall. Trail construction is slated to start in 2014.
The Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded a total of $26.4 million in Transportation Enhancement Grants this year as part of the Transportation Enhancement Program. This funding will support approximately 77 projects throughout the state.